


Tapestries

by RedPen1992



Category: One Piece
Genre: Background CobyMeppo, Background Relationships, Gen, Haki (One Piece), Implied Relationships, Training, background SakaBors
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:20:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27690602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedPen1992/pseuds/RedPen1992
Summary: Tapestries of life laid bare on skin. The battles written in scars, memories burned into flesh.orAdmiral Kizaru helps Coby with his Haki training.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 20





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Set shortly into the Time Skip.  
> This is a birthday present for Borsalino!  
> Happy Birthday Borsalino!

Coby balked at the suggestion.“Really Garp-san? Are we even allowed to ask such things?” 

Garp patted him on the back, nearly tossing him to the floor with the amount of force he put into it, “Of course we are! The bright pipsqueak usually spends his afternoons lazing around anyways, he needs to do some kind of work!” 

It was odd that an Admiral could be referred to as a “bright pipsqueek” but Coby just mentally shrugged it off as one of Vice Admiral Garp’s weird informal things that he does. They marched their way through the main tower of Marineford, eventually coming to Admiral Kizaru’s office.

“Oi! Kizaru!” Garp threw the sliding door open, only to reveal an empty office. It was tidy, and a small stack of papers was sitting on the corner of the desk accompanied by a hand of bananas. 

“Looks like he isn’t here, Garp-san” Coby couldn’t help but let a little of the relief he felt bleed into his voice, “Maybe we should try another day when-”

Garp clapped him on the back again with enough force to make him stumble forwards, “Nonsense! He is in the Fleet Admiral’s office!” The Vice Admiral started stomping his way down the long hallway, “Let’s go Coby! We are wasting daylight!” 

The young Marine couldn’t help but feel apprehensive of the task, just the idea of seeing the Fleet Admiral made his blood run cold. 

They hadn’t interacted since the Marine Ball a few weeks back and he was more than happy to keep it that way, but Vice Admiral Garp was determined and Coby knew there was no stopping him now. Besides, this was for his benefit. Vice Admiral Garp was so sure Admiral Kizaru would be able to help him with his Haki training, why not give it a shot? 

Nearly tripping over his own feet, Coby caught up with Garp and fell into stride besides him. “Are you sure he will be in the Fleet Admiral’s office?” 

The large man let out a guffawing laugh, “Of course! That panda is always there during the afternoons! We should have checked there first.” 

“Panda?” Coby raised an eyebrow, he had never heard of the Admiral referred to as a ‘panda’. He had heard the ‘monkey’ nickname, but that made much more sense considering his affinity for bananas and his given epithet. 

“Of course! The magma-brat thinks him to be a panda, I had him spill the beans over ten beers one day when he was young!” Garp laughed and looked up, smiling at the distant memory, “He made a good argument too, like how the bright-brat is clumsy and lays around snacking on only one food,” the Vice Admiral leaned down and whispered in a suggestive tone, “and how he clings to only one stock of bamboo.” 

The way he phrased it was obviously supposed to be an innuendo, and the way he was smiling probably implied Coby was supposed to laugh, but the pink haired marine found himself tensing up at it. These were things he didn’t necessarily want to know about his superior’s personal lives. “Oh uh, so panda it is.” 

Garp smiled and laughed playfully, “That’s right! Sakazuki made such a good argument for it too, I can’t remember the whole thing but you should ask him some time!” 

Waving his hands in the air, Coby laughed nervously, “I don’t think I will, Garp-san, but thank you for the entertaining story.”

The two of them rounded the corner and climbed the stairs, Garp continuing on about how the epithet of ‘panda’ fit Admiral Kizaru better than ‘monkey’ did. 

When they got to the Fleet Admiral’s office Garp slammed open the sliding doors, making a concerning splintering thud sound when wood met wood.

The man they came to find was sitting on the couch near the Fleet Admiral's desk, legs crossed comfortably, a small stack of papers in his hand. A sly smile graced his features as he lazily looked up at the two newcomers as if he was expecting them. 

The Fleet Admiral himself was… much more frazzled. Taking a moment to glance at Admiral Kizaru, behind him, down to his desk now devoid of papers, then up to Garp and Coby. Huffing grumpily and running a hand through his short hair before picking up his cap that had been uncharacteristically placed on the desk and putting it on. He pulled the bill down so it obscured his face, addressing the visitors tersely, "Yes?" He cleared his throat, "What do you want?" 

Garp snickered, “Did we catch you two at an inconvenient time?” 

The magma-man chose not to reply, instead glaring at the two visitors waiting for an answer. The room started to get warmer and Coby’s anxiety skyrocketed immediately. He stepped forwards. 

“W-we would like to ask for Admiral Kizaru’s assistance, if you are available.” Coby stuttered, wanting more than anything to just leave the room, with or without the Admiral’s help. He took a deep breath and steadied himself, “I would be most grateful if you could help me with my Haki training, Admiral Kizaru.” He bowed at the hip respectfully.

“Hmmm~? You want me to help with your training?” The Admiral lowered the papers he was looking at and placed them in his lap, tilting his head to the side a bit. “And how would I help?” 

“Well, uh,” Coby scratched the back of his head, glancing at Garp, he understood immediately he wasn’t getting any help. The Vice Admiral had crossed his arms and taken a defensive stance, smouldering embers of hate barely reigned in by stalwart discipline shone in his eyes directed at the Fleet Admiral. Coby recovered quickly for both of their sakes. “I am working on my observation haki, and I was wondering if you could train me to react faster than I can see.” 

Admiral Kizaru hummed, taking his time turning his head slowly to look between the three of them with mild amusement before nodding. “Oh~ I see~” The Admiral reclined in his seat, looking over to the Fleet Admiral who was locked in a staring contest with Vice Admiral Garp. “Hey~ Sakazuki-san how does that sound to you?” 

“What you do is of no concern to me, idiot.” The Fleet Admiral threw a glare at him filled with venom, “And spend more time in your own office, these people don’t need to disturb me with business concerning you.” 

“Oh~ scary~” Kizaru waved his hands around in the air, feigning fear. “Alright then~” He uncrossed his legs and stood up, setting the papers he was holding on the Fleet Admiral’s desk. “Then I am turning these over to you, Fleet Admiral. Don’t have too much _fun~_ without me~” After a quick salute and an inconspicuous wink, he flashed himself over to stand right next to Coby. 

Coby jumped as the Admiral suddenly materialized right in front of him, yelping and flailing for a moment before composing himself and saluting his superior officer, “Thank you very much for helping me. I appreciate it very much, Admiral Kizaru.” 

The tall man towered over Coby, bending at the hip slightly to look at him with his hands in his pockets. “Please, just Borsalino, and you are welcome hmm~ this should be fun~”


	2. Chapter 2

Coby had no hope of completing the task, a pair of seastone shackles held ready in one hand while the other remained outstretched. 

Every time Coby thought that he had the Admiral within striking distance, he would flash away at the very last second before the young Marine slipped the cuffs on him. 

“Oh~ too slow again~” He chided, one hand in his pocket and the other on his chin. Admiral Kizaru’s head tilted slightly, the low afternoon sun glinting off his glasses. Coby was sure he was shining it right into his eyes on purpose. Despite his playful demeanor the Admiral was a force to be reckoned with. 

Breathing labored, Coby crouched down again and prepared to use Soru again. It was taking all he had, and there wasn’t much left in the reserves in terms of energy for him to work with. He estimated he might be able to use it four or five more times before he collapsed from exhaustion. Not to mention he started seeing a large dark spot in his vision, looking straight at the Admiral wasn’t a good idea. 

“Bwahahaha I thought you were smarter than this boy!” Garp bellowed from the rail of the second floor balcony, he sat with his legs dangling off the edge swinging like a child’s. “You have to think quicker too, this is a Haki exercise, use it! You better catch him or no dinner!” 

“Oh~ such a harsh punishment Garp-san. You can’t really expect-” The Admiral flashed away from where he was standing to the other side of the training courtyard, cleanly dodging Coby’s desperate sneak attack from behind. “- him to be able to catch me with only one day of training.” 

Admiral Kizaru hadn’t broken a sweat, using his powers expended absolutely no energy it seemed, meanwhile Coby’s legs threatened to give out from under him with how much they were shaking. Standing felt like too much effort, but maybe he figured it out. 

He opened his eyes and beamed confidently at the Admiral. “Admiral Borsalino-san,” Coby took a deep inhale and composed himself, planting his feet into the ground and resuming his fighting stance, “So you think it is possible for me to catch you?” 

“Hmmm~ I didn’t say that did I?” The tall yellow clad man glanced at something far away, up towards the tower. “Hmmm~” 

Distracted. 

Coby shut his eyes and locked on to the Admiral’s form using Haki, this way he focused completely on where his presence was and wouldn’t risk blinding himself. Building the pressure and power at the ball of one foot, he jumped forwards, cutting through air and feeling weightless flight as he catapulted himself towards the nonchalant man. 

This time instead of reaching out with his hands extended he left them close to his sides when he neared the Admiral’s form, allowing himself to fall forwards through the open space where Kizaru’s body was and committing his attention to tracking where he went. 

He had felt it the last time he dove for Kizaru. The instantaneous pop of his presence elsewhere that happened so fast it felt like there were two of him, the afterimage and the actual person blurring together for a moment. 

When he felt it, that was when he pushed his foot down swinging his arms as counterweights and pivoting around towards where he knew the Admiral would be, using the last of his energy to propel himself forwards into his last and fastest Soru. 

This time he was sure he had him. 

The Seastone cuffs outstretched in one hand, while the other he arm pressed close to his chest to reduce the drag of the air, Coby was sure he had the cuffs around the Admiral’s wrist. 

Only to fall through him and onto the ground, tumbling a few meters over the sand driven by his own momentum. When he finally came to a stop he huffed, “Ow.” 

Coby opened his eyes to the evening sky, purple blues fading into oranges… or was it the other way around? The world spun a little bit to the left, or was that the right? Every muscle seemed to ache, but especially his legs. They felt like jello, the bones had turned to noodles and his muscles rendered useless scraps of meat. 

“Oh~ you took quite the tumble~ are you alright?” Admiral Kizaru flashed right into Coby’s line of sight, the brightness was entirely unwelcome to Coby’s suddenly very sensitive eyes and he squeezed them shut them quickly. 

“Bwahahahaha hey that was a pretty good effort Coby!” Garp raucously laughed, slapping a hand down on the balcony followed by the crisp sound of wood splitting and then an “uh oh.” 

The pink haired Marine wasn’t able to contain the smile that spread across his face, Garp didn’t give out compliments for nothing, maybe he actually was close to getting the Admiral… but. “Admiral Borsalino-san?” Coby peaked an eye open, hoping he wasn’t glowing any more. 

To his relief the Admiral wasn’t using his devil fruit while standing over him, he looked amused. “Yes~?” Kizaru leaned over and offered a hand to help Coby up, which he took gratefully and was pulled to his wobbly feet. 

“Did you ever intend on me to catch you at all? I was so sure I had you, but you just turned your body into light and I passed through you.” Coby looked up at the Admiral as he mulled the question over, bringing a hand to his chin and looking up in the air as if it held the answer to the posed question. 

“Hmmm~” Admiral Kizaru looked down at him with a playful glint in his eyes, “You came a lot closer than I thought you would, you are a bright young man.” 

Coby practically beamed, “Thank you, Admiral Borsalino-san!” It meant so much coming from an Admiral, his chest felt like it could burst with pride, even though he hadn’t caught him today, he would definitely keep trying. 

“Oh~ you are very welcome~! It was pretty fun~” The Admiral patted him on the back gently, careful not to unbalance him or push him over. “Ahh~ let’s hit the showers then shall we~?” 

At that Coby raised an eyebrow, “Huh? But Admiral Borsalino-san, you haven’t broken a sweat.” It went unsaid that having an Admiral present in the common showers would certainly be an odd occurrence too, usually the only people who used it were the younger lower ranked recruits. 

“Well~” Admiral Kizaru looked off to the side for a moment before turning his gaze back to Coby with renewed playfulness and intent, “It is always quite relieving to bathe after training isn’t it? I’ll clean your back and you clean mine~? How about that~?” 

The young Marine already knew ‘no’ wasn’t an option, who was he to deny an Admiral? “Alright!” Coby stumbled a bit on the walk to the showers, his legs still feeling like wet noodles. Kizaru had offered to carry him but Coby politely declined, he wasn’t sure he would be able to live it down if he was carried like a princess to the showers.


	3. Chapter 3

There was a group of people already using the showers, people that had done their afternoon workouts, others who were just getting out of class, some were just mulling about. Coby recognized a few of them as his peers, and they all definitely recognized him, strolling in with the yellow clad Admiral Kizaru who was chatting happily away about how coming in there reminded him of his younger days as a recruit. 

“Things were a lot less complicated then~ a lot less paperwork for one thing.” They stopped by some tall lockers at the back of the locker room, usually Coby wouldn’t dare use the tall lockers because they were reserved for officers, but he couldn’t just leave the Admiral’s side to go put his stuff in the small lockers, so he just ignored the stares of incredulity from his peers and strippedquickly next to the Admiral.

Kizaru seemed to be soaking in the attention, preening and making sure to choreograph his movements so that they were large and sweeping as he pulled off his suit and jacket. The way he pulled off his tie might as well have been suggestive for all Coby cared, his movements slow and languid, taking his sweet time. 

The young Marine could feel eyes on them, or more specifically, eyes on the Admiral as he unbuttoned and pulled off his dress shirt. 

Small gasps from around the room sounded off as he revealed his body to the others. Coby first noticed a small iron chain that lay delicately around his neck hidden away from the rest of the world, polished into a perfect shine and extremely well kept. A ring lay against his chest hung on the necklace, a beautiful bright silver with a stunning red gem inlaid into it. 

Before he could comment on its beauty, his eyes were drawn away from the jewelry, and he couldn’t help but inhale sharply. 

Most striking about the Admiral’s reveal was the patchwork of scars that lay embedded into his body. A deep dark one that caused a noticeable dip in the skin lay vertically over his left shoulder, as if cleaved into him by a large sword or maybe axe. Thin long ones lay across his back at varying angles, as if he was lashed by a whip. On his right mid-stomach was a small but raggedly thick one that looked like it was given to him at a young age by a knife, accompanied closely by a couple of larger circular ones that must have been gunshot wounds. 

The edge of Coby’s lips tugged down into a frown as he saw a familiar burn pattern on Admiral Kizaru’s right pectoral, discolored and a sensitive dark pink, divots lie where scalding melted rock had no doubt made contact with skin. Flesh puffed and spidered out around the area and Coby quickly found himself thinking about the former Admiral Aokiji’s scars and how they covered so much of his body. 

Had Akainu-? 

The young Marine pushed the thought back as Admiral Kizaru turned to him, regarding him for an off beat moment before smiling and sitting on the bench to take his shoes off. 

“Mmm~ what are you thinking I wonder~?” 

The Admiral bent down to untie his shoes, fingers teasing the knots open easily while keeping Coby in his periphery. 

Coby sat down as well and started undoing his own shoes, thankful for the distraction. He had been staring hadn’t he? A heat of shame rose to his cheeks, and his lips pursed tight. Despite his better self telling him he shouldn’t say anything, his mouth seemed to move of its own accord, his voice finding his vocal chords fueled by curiosity. “You have so many scars, Admiral Borsalino-san.” 

He bit his tongue immediately afterwards, panicked in wondering if he had overstepped his good graces with the Admiral. 

“Hmm~” Kizaru looked down at himself, shrugging. “I suppose so~” after taking off his shoes and placing them to the side carefully, he stood to unclasp his belt and slid his pants down his long legs, revealing even more scars. “Did you think becoming an Admiral was easy?” 

Coby straightened up, a small shiver running down his spine. The way Kizaru was looking at him now was almost like he was evaluating him, cold and calculating. Did he know about his declaration? That Coby wanted to become an Admiral? Was this all just a test? “No, Admiral Borsalino-san.” Coby stood suddenly, hands balled at his sides in determination. “I am prepared for the risks.” 

“Oh~ what a scary~ look in your eyes, that youthful determination is quite frightening~” His eyes softened, a warm smile spreading across his face. “It makes it much easier to have a companion by your side, doesn’t it?” Kizaru slipped his pants off with his underwear, folding them with care and setting them inside the locker, standing stark naked in front of both Coby and the rest of the peepers hiding behind the maze of lockers. He paid them no mind as he lowered his voice to a whisper, gently taking off his necklace and gazing at the ring with adoration. “We aren’t pirates, but we are allowed to love and cherish our treasures.” 

Kizaru set the necklace atop his folded clothes with care, turning once again to Coby after he had taken off his glasses, the battles of his life evident on his skin. “Come on then, let’s go bathe shall we~?” 

Coby found it quite nice, exchanging stories of adventures with the Admiral. As they washed, Coby spoke of a time he and Helmeppo had found a pirate’s buried treasure by accident on an island full of monsters, how they had been in a scuffle and it was Helmeppo who had fallen down into a cave and discovered it. 

“Helmeppo was all covered in beast guts and slipped down the side of a hill, but then fell right into a small tunnel and found tons of hidden treasures!” 

The Admiral laughed wholeheartedly and praised the blonde’s luck, regaling a tale about how he and a much younger Sakazuki had been tasked with finding and securing a stash of treasure, only to find that the pirates had been sacked by another rival group. 

“Hmm~ we spent several days out in the thick jungle trying to get there,” Kizaru smiled recalling the memory, “Oh~ Saka-san sulked for days~” 

The time passed them quickly, after moving to the private bathhouse to get some real privacy they continued sharing stories. Coby almost found it hard to believe that the Fleet Admiral had been the center of some of them, of how he saved a young Rosinante from Garp’s ‘training’ and whisked the child off to play and color with him while Sengoku was away for the afternoons. Or of how Sakazuki fed stray animals when they were children while the two of them hopped from Island to Island for survival. 

“You two have known each other for a long time huh?” Coby was starting to feel dizzy with how long they had been in the hot bath, there wasn’t any way to tell time inside so he wasn’t sure how long they had been there. He got up and sat on the edge, dangling his feet in the hot water.

“Oh yes~ we are from the same Island.” Kizaru had taken to sitting half propped up in the chest deep water, supported by one arm around the side of the bath. 

“So you two decided to travel as friends away from your home island and enlist?” 

The Admiral chuckled into the back of his hand, “I suppose you could say that~, you and yours also came from the same island as well right~? Were you two friends before you enlisted?” 

Coby laughed and looked down to the steaming water, “I guess you could say that, there were some interesting circumstances that threw us together.” 

“Hmmm~” Kizaru scratched his chin and closed his eyes, sighing and relaxing deeper into the water. “Fate has a way with things like that~” 

“Careful, Admiral-”

“Yes, yes, yes~” The Admiral waved off Coby’s concern, “Anyways~ if anything happens I am sure you could save me~” He cracked an eye open, mischief and a lazy playfulness clear in his demeanor. 

Coby waved both of his hands in the air, “Please don’t place such responsibility on me, I couldn’t even catch you in today’s exercise.” 

“Hmmm~ that’s true~” Kizaru smiled and looked up at him, studying him. 

He couldn’t help but feel a pang of hurt when the Admiral conceded that point, Coby’s lips pressing into a thin line and diverting his gaze down to his hands. 

“But~ no one has caught me in such a long~ time,” The Admiral shifted in the water and stood, moving to leave the bath and reached for the towel he had set on the side, “I look forward to the day you are able to." His stomach rumbled audibly, "Hmmm~ I'm hungry~ how do noodles sound to you? My treat.” 

Eyebrows shooting up to the ridge of his bandana, Coby practically beamed at the Admiral, excitement and hope bursting behind his eyes. _He thinks I can do it._ "That sounds great!"

The young Marine watched as the Admiral picked himself out of the bath, his skin flushed pink from the hot water, the tapestries of his life laid bare on his skin. The battles written in scars, memories burned into flesh. 

The distance between them was almost insurmountable, a deep chasm along with the highest mountain riddled with challenges that were intended to break him. 

Coby stepped out of the warm water on unsteady legs, feeling a bit like a newborn fawn, and followed the man of light out of the bathhouse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed! :D

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed! 
> 
> Some of the HC were cooked up with [Chiaki](https://twitter.com/chiakihamano1)  
> aka  
> [Fourleaves_Clover](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fourleaves_Clover)
> 
> The necklace is the smelted down iron from Saka's knife he used to protect them as children, and the ring is their wedding ring. Saka has one with a yellow diamond and Bors's has a red diamond.


End file.
